DA Switzerland / Global GOTV Co-Chair

Come along and join in a future discussion of the Geneva Book Group. Meetings are usually held on the first Tuesday of each month. Whether you read the book or not, it's always a lively discussion. For more information, send an email to gvabooks@democrats.ch.

The next book for discussion is Maid by Stephen Land on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.

Nominal start time is 18:30; if you arrive after 19:00 you'll need the door code, so be sure to email gvabooks@democrats.ch.

The group is currently meeting at the American International Women's Club, 4th floor, 11 rte. de Chêne, Geneva.

by TPG: Convenient to the tram #12, stop "Amandolier"

by car: No easy parking in the vicinity. Use Villerouge parking garage (about a 10 minute walk) rather than Coop 2000, which gets locked early and you might have to wait until Wednesday to retrieve your car.

Not required, but appreciated is if you can bring some food and/or drink to share and Fr. 5.- to help with the room rent.

Possible future titles:

Here's a look at what's coming up in future months. But nothing is definite—the future books are decided at the end of each meeting.

American Like Me by America Ferrera

Collection of first-person accounts of growing up in cross-cultural settings.

Conditions of Liberty, Civil Society and its Rivals by Ernest Gellner

[published 1994] NYTimes review: A witty, elegant and sharply pointed essay on the prospects for liberal democracy in the late 20th c...

The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right by Max Root

(from review) An elite Republican has had enough, and turns on the party of Trump, urging people to vote a straight Democratic ticket.

The Forgotten Americans by Isabelle Sawhill

(from review) One of the country’s leading scholars on economics and social policy, Isabel Sawhill addresses the enormous divisions in American society—economic, cultural, and political—and what might be done to bridge them.

How democracies die by Steven Levitsky

(Amazon 4 stars) Collection of information on how different autocrats took over various countries. Chilling in its analogies to what has started in the US.

It's even worse than it looks by Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein

column by T. Friedman 2018-10-03 Sub-title: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism

Listen, Liberal by Thomas Frank

(from review) Democrats have occupied the White House for sixteen of the last twenty-four years, and yet the decline of the middle class has only accelerated. Frank demonstrates, cogently and at times acidly, how the party lost the allegiance of blue-collar Americans.

Maid by Stephen Land

Observations of the problems faced by poor, working single parents, written by a woman who has been there.

Are you enraged? Or fired up and ready to Get Out The Vote and make sure a true #BlueWave crosses the States on Election Day?

DA Switzerland has been challenged by members from DA France to join their Phonebanking competition to call 50 voters for the 50 Senators who voted to force their temperamentally unfit and highly partisan nominee onto the United States Supreme Court. Let's show our neighbors what we are made of. Winner gets bragging rights and the satisfaction that participated in fixing this nightmare.

Let's give a special shout-out to the three phonebanking volunteers who made more than 30 calls during the opening weekend of phonebanking. As promised, we'll be sending each of them a coveted DA “donkey bag”!

Dean Shuey (DA Philippines) – who made 140 calls over the opening weekend!

If you vote in Florida's State Senate District 40. the Southwest Miami-Dade area, now is the time to register to vote and to request your ballot for the September 26 Special Election.
This is a rare opportunity for Democrats in Florida to add to to their seats in the Florida State Senate. Republicans are counting on low voter turnout to continue their control of Florida’s government. Let’s turn out the vote to send Democrat Annette Taddeo to Tallahassee!
Go to votefromabroad.org and follow the prompts to fill in the form, then print it and sign it. MAIL your form to your Local Election Official -- it must be RECEIVED by your Local Election Official in Florida by Monday, August 28. Already Registered But Need to Request a Ballot? Just go to votefromabroad.org and follow the prompts to fill in the form, then print it and sign it. You can send it in by EMAIL, FAX or MAIL, but it must be RECEIVED by your Local Election Official in Florida by Wednesday, September 20 at 5pm EDT. Send in you form NOW to avoid unexpected delays or voting problems.

The State of Alabama will conduct a Special Primary Election on August 15, 2017 for the office of U.S. Senator to replace Jeff Sessions (R). The Special General Election will be held on December 12, 2017. This special election concerns all Alabama voters.

If you are an Alabama voter, register and request an absentee ballot today at www.VoteFromAbroad.org or by clicking the VOTE link in the navigation above. Vote From Abroad helps you prepare the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), the registration and ballot request form accepted by all States and territories. Complete, sign and send the FPCA to your election office in order to receive a ballots to vote in all upcoming elections this year. You must mail your signed FPCA to your election official.

REMEMBER: You must 1. COMPLETE, 2. SIGN, and 3. MAIL the FPCA to your local election office.

Be sure you will receive a ballot to vote

To vote in the August 15 primary election, if you are not currently registered, your FPCA needs to be received by July 31; if you are currently registered, your FPCA ballot request must be received by August 10. Ballots will be sent beginning June 30 for those who have requested them.

Please do not assume you will receive the ballot to vote in this special election, even if you just voted in the November 2016 General Election. Detailed instructions and county contact information is available at www.fvap.gov/alabama.

The State of Utah will conduct a Special Election on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, for the 3rd Congressional District to replace Jason Chaffetz (R) , who will resign on June 30 — concerns voters in Carbon, Emery, Grand, San Juan, and Wasatch counties as well as portions of Salt Lake and Utah counties. A Special Primary Election will be held on August 15, 2017.

If you are a Utah voter, register to vote and request an absentee ballot today at www.VoteFromAbroad.org or by clicking the VOTE link in the top menu above. Overseas citizens may use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), the registration and ballot request form accepted by all States and territories to request a ballot for this special election.

REMEMBER: You must 1. COMPLETE, 2. SIGN, and 3. SEND the FPCA to your local election office.

Be sure you will receive a ballot to vote

If you are not currently registered, your FPCA needs to be received by July 17 to vote in the Primary as well as the Special Election, or October 10 to vote in the Special Election. We recommend you complete and send the FPCA now; if you are currently registered, your FPCA ballot request also must be received by August 10 to receive a ballot for the Primary as well as the Special Election, or November 2 to receive a ballot for the Special Election.

Please do not assume you will receive the ballot to vote in this special election, even if you just voted in the November 2016 General Election. Detailed instructions and county contact information is available at www.fvap.gov/utah.

On Wednesday, May 24th, Laura Messenger became the first Chair, elected by acclamation at the inaugural meeting of the Democrats Abroad Switzerland Geneva Chapter held near Geneva's Old Town.

Laura, a longtime member, is also on DA's Global Communications Committee.

Current DACH Chair Kate Edson came from Basel to welcome Laura Messenger to the new office and seat on the Executive Committee. Also in attendance were Macha Levinson (DACH Chair 1987-1990), Warren Furth (DACH Chair 2001-2003) and Michael Parmly (former ExCom Member) among the quorum of 25 members.

Thanks go to the Nominations Committee for the Geneva Chapter Elections, Anne-Shelton Aaron and Peter Butterfield, DACH Chair and Vice-Chair from 2013 to 2017, and who were instrumental in the launch of two new chapters this year and growing communities in other regions across Switzerland. Anne-Shelton proposed the creation of the new Geneva chapter, and together with former DACH Chair Maya Samara (2009-2013) carried it to its inauguration.

Democrats Abroad Switzerland is the official country committee for U.S. Democrats living in Switzerland.

We strive to help Americans connect with fellow citizens living across the 26 Cantons of the Swiss Federation and remain active in U.S. politics. Living in a unique nation of expats in which resident foreigners comprise 23% of the population, Democrats Abroad provides a vital social and political link for American citizens staying for a short period as well as those here for the long-term.

Our mission is to deliver critical votes for Democrats in U.S. Federal elections, as well as serving as unofficial U.S. ambassadors, communicating global perspectives to Washington D.C. and our hometowns and Swiss communities.

Watch this space for upcoming announcements of meetings and events – we have events planned throughout the year and encourage anyone interested in participating to get in touch.

The Zurich Chapter of Democrats Abroad Switzerland (DACH) will elect a new Committee at the Zurich Annual Chapter Meeting on May 20th, 2017, 5:00 pm.

The chair of the Zurich Chapter, 2016-2017, Renée Rousseau, filed the 2017 Zurich Chapter Annual Report by the date of the DACH AGM on March 25, 2017. Due to time conflicts, the Zurich Chapter Annual Meeting will be organized by newly elected DACH Chair and German Region Vice-Chair for Basel, Kate Edson, acting as Interim Zurich Chair.

A Nominating Committee has been appointed to seek candidates to stand for office and to run the nominations/election process. The Committee seeks members motivated to help Democrats win races at all levels of our political process for the 2018 U.S. Midterm Congressional Elections, and who have ideas for how to get people out to vote.

Please Consider Running for an Office

Join the Zurich Chapter Committee to make it a vibrant and active chapter in Switzerland! Now is the time to heed the call for candidates and get involved! There will be plenty of opportunity and demand for activism to promote the Democratic message and to counter the policies being put in place by the new Republican administration.

Zurich Committee Officers

NOMINATIONS TIMELINE

All members of Democrats Abroad active in the Zurich region are eligible, and encouraged, to run for an office and to vote at the elections on May 20th.

To run, send a Statement of Intent (up to 500 words) to the Nominating Committee by end of day April 14th, include nominee's name, address, telephone number and email address.

In your statement, please elaborate on what you think qualifies you for the position. If you are running for Chair or Vice-Chair, in your statement list the top three priorities that you will focus your time and energies on during the next two years. The Chair and Vice-Chair do not have to be of the opposite gender (as in the DACH national election). If you are qualified and committed, we encourage you to run for office!

By April 25th we will distribute information about the candidates, their statements, and voting procedures by email.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS & DUTIES

☆ Chair ☆Chief executive officer of the Zurich Chapter

Is a member of the DACH Executive Committee (ExCom)

Is a dedicated team player who will work with the Zurich Chapter committee, volunteers and the DACH Chair

Organizes and conducts monthly meetings and other events of the Zurich Chapter

Establishes and supports all committees necessary for the proper functioning of the organization

Represents the Zurich Chapter in interviews with the press, working together with regional and national DACH Press officers

Shares responsibility with DACH and the Basel Chapter Chair for voter and member outreach in the Swiss German region, where no chapters are yet established

The Chapter Chair is the only elected position required by the DACH bylaws, but other positions may be created or removed by the Chair from time to time as deemed appropriate (see bylaws for further information).

☆ Vice-Chair ☆

Assists the Chair in all Zurich Chapter activities

If the Chair is not available, organizes and conducts the monthly Chapter meetings

Attends DACH ExCom meetings if the Chair is not available

Substitutes for the Chair when needed

Takes on other responsibilities as agreed upon with the Chair

☆ Secretary ☆

Takes minutes of all meetings and after approval of the Chair distributes to the Chapter Committee and ExCom

Distributes meeting agendas to the Chapter Committee

Manages and maintains the Zurich Chapter membership list as well as the list of volunteers, which may involve work on the DA database and with the DACH Secretary.

Maintains files and administrative records of the Chapter (Google Docs)

☆ Treasurer ☆

Manages the finances of DA Zurich in agreement with the Chair and the DACH ExCom Treasurer

This is a combined effort of the Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton Counties in Georgia to work in a unified force to activate thousands of volunteers and party resources.

Mission

Election Awareness – We will engage in direct voter contact to every possible voter that we feel will be voting democrat in this election and make sure they have all the correct information concerning the Special Election.

Voter Turnout – We will engage in Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts to ensure that we have the largest turnout possible of the Democratic electorate.

Who is going to make this happen?

Volunteers – This is your election to win! Together we will use our Social media, our mailing list and social networks to activate thousands of volunteers across District, the State and the Country to ensure that voter turnout is as large as possible within the Democratic population of the district.

County Democratic Parties – The Cobb DeKalb and Fulton will contribute resources, volunteers and organization to increase election awareness.

Democratic Party of Georgia – We are partnering with the Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) who will provide advanced Data analytics and a tool set necessary to the voter outreach and data collection.

How?

Canvass – We are going to Canvass (Door Knock) across the 6th District to boost voter awareness of the Special Election and to increase the turnout at the polls during early voting and on Election Day.

Phone Bank – We are going to call anyone that we feel will be voting for a Democrat in this election and make sure that they know about the election and encourage them to go vote!

The State of Montana will conduct a Special Election on Tuesday, May 25, 2017, for its at-large Congressional District to replace Ryan Zinke who became Director of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. This district represents all counties in Montana.

If you are a Montana voter, register to vote and request an absentee ballot today at www.VoteFromAbroad.org or by clicking the VOTE link in the top menu above. Overseas citizens may use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), the registration and ballot request form accepted by all States and territories to request a ballot for this special election.

REMEMBER: You must 1. COMPLETE, 2. SIGN, and 3. SEND the FPCA to your local election office.

Be sure you will receive a ballot to vote

If you are not currently registered, your FPCA needs to be received by May 25 for you to receive the ballot to vote, although we recommend you complete and send the FPCA now; if you are currently registered, your FPCA ballot request also must be received by May 25.

Ballots will be sent beginning April 10 for those who have already requested them. If you do not receive your requested State ballot 30 days before the election, you can use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), also available on Vote From Abroad.

Please do not assume you will receive the ballot to vote in this special election, even if you just voted in the November 2016 General Election. Detailed instructions and county contact information is available at www.fvap.gov/montana.

The State of South Carolina will conduct a Special Primary Election on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, for the 5th Congressional District to replace Mike Mulvaney who became Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. This district consists of Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Union, and York counties, and portions of Newberry, Spartanburg, and Sumter counties.

The Special General Election will be held on June 20.

If you are a South Carolina voter from the 5th Congressional District, register to vote and request an absentee ballot today at www.VoteFromAbroad.org or by clicking the VOTE link in the top menu above. Overseas citizens may use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), the registration and ballot request form accepted by all States and territories to request a ballot for this special election.

REMEMBER: You must 1. COMPLETE, 2. SIGN, and 3. SEND the FPCA to your local election office.

Be sure you will receive a ballot to vote

If you are not currently registered, your FPCA needs to be received by April 3 for you to receive the ballot to vote in the primary; if you are currently registered, your FPCA ballot request must be received by May 2.

Ballots will be sent beginning March 18 for those who have already requested them. If you do not receive your requested State ballot 30 days before the election, you can use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), also available on Vote From Abroad.

Please do not assume you will receive the ballot to vote in this special election, even if you just voted in the November 2016 General Election. Detailed instructions and county contact information is available at www.fvap.gov/south-carolina.

We had a great time on Saturday at our Annual General Meeting in Basel, during which we elected a new Democrats Abroad Switzerland Executive Committee. A big congratulations to our newly elected leadership!

On March 15th, each of us will mail a postcard that publicly expresses our opposition to the Republican Administration. And we, in vast numbers, from all corners of the world, will show the media and the politicians what #resistance looks like as we bury the White House post office in officially-verifiable postcards.

Hank Aaron currently holds the record for fan mail, having received 900,000 pieces in a year. We’re setting a new record: over a million pieces in a day.

So sharpen your wit, unsheathe your writing implements, write from the heart, and all of us will put them in the mail on the same day, March 15, 2017. All of our issues — DAPL, women’s rights, racial discrimination, religious freedom, immigration, economic security, education, the environment, conflicts of interest, the existence of facts — can and should find common cause. That cause is to make it irrefutable that the president’s claim of wide support is a farce. The crowd of those that oppose the Republican agenda is exponentially larger.

How to participate

Write one postcard or a dozen! Create your own cards, buy them, share them, it doesn’t matter as long as you write #TheIdes on them somewhere.

Take a picture of your cards and post them on social media (tagged with #TheIdes).

Spread the word! Everyone on Earth can let Washington know their opinion of the President. They can’t build a wall high enough to stop the mail.

THE ONLY RULE IS NO VIOLENCE, THREATS OF VIOLENCE, OR INSINUATIONS OF VIOLENCE. THIS IS ABOUT BEING HEARD, VIA POSTCARDS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE IDES OF MARCH HAS A HISTORY, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE ARE — IN ANY WAY — CALLING FOR HERE.

Nominated Candidates

Nominations for the nine elected positions on the 2017-2019 Executive Committee (ExCom) of Democrats Abroad Switzerland closed on Saturday February 18. Listed below are the nominated candidates. The nine offices will be elected on Saturday March 25 at the DA Switzerland Annual General Meeting. At that meeting, additional nominations will be allowed from the floor. All candidates will be given time for a brief statement to the members.

Candidates below are listed according to office, in the same order the offices will be elected at the AGM. Within each office, candidates appear alphabetically by last name, showing their city of residence and their statements. Because we have many nominations, in the interest of readability, we display here only the candidate's name linked to their full statement on the pages that follow.

Voting Method

Americans who are DA members as of Friday March 24th may vote. Please reply to elections@democrats.ch to indicate your attendance at the AGM. You may vote in one of the following ways:

In-person voting: Printed ballots will be distributed at the meeting.

On-line voting: Links to web-based ballots will be provided to members who sign up to attend by WebEx.

If you cannot participate in either of these ways, a third possibility is available:

Vote by proxy: Request a proxy form from elections@democrats.ch. Send a copy of your completed and signed proxy form to us by March 22nd, and give it to your chosen attending proxy member before the AGM. Any voter at the meeting may hold at most two proxies.

Election Process

At the meeting, the nine offices will be elected one by one, in the order shown above. Nominations for office may be made from the floor or from WebEx, as write-in candidates. This includes listed candidates who did not win their announced race. All candidates will be given two minutes to address the members. Voting by advance ballot will not be available.

This election process aligns with that used at DA international meetings, and was preferred by the Executive Committee in view of the many declared candidates. Voters will be able to meet and hear them in person, before choosing.

The Candidates

I am a lifelong Democrat and have been continuously involved in progressive causes since my first Earth Day as a teenager organising recycling drives up until the Women’s March in Geneva. I studied and worked in a field dominated by men and know how important it is to preserve the rights women fought so hard for. I volunteered with the Obama campaign in 2007 in Basel helping to organise voter registration, debate watch events, an election and inauguration night parties. In 2016, as Vice-Chair for Basel Events under the Zurich Chair Renee Rousseau I worked to organise a team in Basel that is now ready to form an official Basel Chapter. We held several voter registration events (at one event registering about 80 people), an Expat Expo, Debate Watches, Election Night Party and other events such as Tax Nights and have held regular monthly meetings of our volunteers.

During the past year I gained valuable experience working nationally on the Executive Committee as a Member-at-Large for GOTV and as acting Chair for Basel. I’ve had the benefit of the good example the current leadership team has provided in nurturing a cohesive team and have enjoyed working with them all. I have also had previous experience serving on a Board of Directors as Social Events & Programs Chair for the American Women’s Club of Basel. In addition, I think my 20 years of professional experience as an executive and project leader in a large corporation has also provided me with useful organisational and management skills that will be useful in serving as Chair of DACH.

The next two years will be critical in regaining control of Congress, working to increase the Democratic presence in local and state offices and prepare for the next presidential race in 2020. In Switzerland in 2017 we will be working to further develop local organisations, reach out to more Americans across the country and to update and increase our membership list. Then come January 2018 we will be ready to start registering voters for the 2018 midterm elections. Many progressives also feel frustration about the outcome of the elections and need help channelling that frustration into activism. We need to be ready to help. We have seen that energy used in positive protest can make a difference even with this administration in place.

I am a native Californian living in Switzerland, who has eagerly followed American political affairs since I can remember and would like to contribute as much as I can to the wellbeing of American Democracy. Being appalled by the recent election and in despair about the direction towards which American Politics has been taking a turn, I committed myself to do everything and anything I can to fight the elitist, oppressive and unrepresentative Agenda being pushed forward by the far-right. I have been very outspoken about justice, privacy and equality in the United States in the past and would appreciate the opportunity to continue to push these important principals forward on a larger scale, as Chair of Democrats Abroad. Given the chance, I would use all available resources to push against the outrageous propositions being produced by the current White House by, amongst many other things, recruiting larger numbers of volunteers, lobbying senators and congresspeople, organizing charities for groups like ACLU and Planned Parenthood, mobilizing more Voters and loudly calling out the current administration for their counter productivity and bigotry. In such unsettling and uncertain times I find it most important remain calm and consistent in contrasting unreasonable ideas. This is exactly what I hope to be able to do as Chair of Democrats Abroad and thus hope I can count on your vote.

The Candidates

I joined Democrats Abroad, Switzerland 8 years ago, after moving to Geneva just a couple of weeks before President Obama’s inauguration and thankfully learning of an inauguration party hosted by Democrats Abroad.

A life-long Democrat and committed voter, I have long been active in Democratic and progressive politics. As an undergrad, I was a leader in my campus feminist and GLBT groups, and I have been an active participant in many progressive causes, from marching against the Iraq War, to pushing for graduate-student workers' rights as a member of our graduate student union while studying at UC Berkeley. I'm also an enthusiastic voter - I registered to vote as soon as I turned 18, and I participated in get out the vote drives in Nevada in 2004 and volunteered to work as a poll worker during the 2008 election.

Since arriving in Switzerland, I've been an active member of Democrats Abroad, participating and volunteering frequently for all manner of events, from Art Walks to Expat Expos. This past election year, I was part of a team of Basel-area Democrats who organized a great voter registration effort and many election-related events, including Debate and Election-night Watch Parties. We've continued to be active since the election, organizing a Basel Chapter of DACH, and contemplating how to best respond to the terrifying new Republican administration. As part of that effort, I'm head of a team that completed database training and certification on the new DA database.

It is vital that we resist the Republican administration and fight to take over the House and Senate in the mid-term elections. As secretary of DACH, I hope to put my passion, skills and experience to use strengthening DA Switzerland to help us all in that effort. I should be able to do so from day one, given my familiarity with DA Switzerland and certification on the database (the latter being essential for maintaining the membership list).

I am a proud American and progressive Democrat who firmly believes in the power of democratic government to advance social good and serve the needs of its citizens. At this alarming and uncertain time in American political history, I believe that citizen engagement in the political process is more important than ever to ensure that our democratic institutions protect all Americans, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, place of origin or economic status, maintain peace in the world, and withstand the dangerous whims of the current administration. This is why I would like to dedicate my time and efforts to serve Democrats Abroad in Switzerland as your Secretary.

I believe that my education, professional experience, and genuine passion for policy and politics qualify me for this role. Originally from New York, I bring a global perspective to all that I do and have travelled extensively in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Professionally, I specialize in the development of multi-sector partnerships for global health and am currently a Partnerships & Networks Manager at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in Geneva. My previous experience includes working on corporate social responsibility initiatives in the private sector, managing partnerships and communications for a Liberian NGO during the Ebola Crisis, and serving as Global Health Lead at the Clinton Global Initiative. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Public Health Policy from New York University and a Master of Science in Global Affairs from NYU's Centre for Global Affairs.

If elected, I will use my education and experience to fulfil the office of Secretary in an organized and efficient manner and contribute to the Executive Committee to the best of my abilities. In addition, I will employ my millennial enthusiasm and digital fluency to support increased member engagement through new avenues of information exchange and heightened activism. With daily headlines focused on the most sensational news coming out of Washington and the definition of "facts" up for debate, I will strive to break through the noise and elevate the most critical issues facing our country and you, the Democrats of Switzerland.

As the so-called 51st state, we - the millions of Americans living abroad - represent a powerful voting bloc that can swing elections and sway elected officials on issues that matter. Working together as the Democrats of Switzerland and as part of Democrats Abroad worldwide, I believe that we can make a difference. Thank you for your consideration of my candidacy. It would be an honour to serve you.

For as long as I can remember, I have identified with and held dear the programs and ideals that the Democratic Party represents. I come from a union family who instilled in me the importance of voting for candidates who protect workers' rights. As a young adult, I benefitted from the services offered at a reasonable cost at Planned Parenthood. I have used the social safety net when it was necessary and I had no other options. So many of my life experiences and my beliefs necessitate my allegiance with the Democratic Party; truly, the party cares for the real needs of the American people with basic empathy underlying each of the policies put forth by our representatives.

The Democratic Party is at a critical point. That the GOP controls the majority of state legislatures and governorships as well as the House and Senate spells major trouble for the Democrats now and far into the future. It is essential that we start gaining back ground so that after the next census, the Republican gerrymandering doesn't worsen and cause more issues for us and for the freedoms and protections of the American people, both at home and abroad.

I haven't ever held a secretarial position. However, I was heavily involved in Student Council and Key Club executive boards in high school. Additionally, I have worked in office settings for over ten years and have excellent written and oral communication skills. I am very organized and am also proficient with the Google suite of office tools (Docs, Sheets, and Slides).

It is unfortunate that I didn't really find my passion for politics until we moved overseas, but I suppose my passion was born of necessity. The current state of politics in the US is dire and while I feel fortunate to have some distance from it, I also feel it's necessary to do everything I can to help improve things for my friends and family back home, as well as the rest of the country, and the world at large. I have a five year daughter. My husband and I have had to explain to her that we won't be moving back to the US for at least four more years, but I want her to be able to move home one day and be proud of the country she’s returning to. That is why I want to be involved in the DACH Executive Committee.